While not the most breathtaking draw, Rangers have been given recent fallen foes Braga once again, this time two stages later in the quarters, as the reward for overcoming Serbian opponents Red Star.
We at Ibrox Noise were pining for West Ham, but that would now only happen in a possible final, with the route to Sevilla being Braga, then Atalanta or Leipzig, before the showpiece itself.
It’s a negotiable draw, and while Braga will be no pushovers, they’re passable, but as we did re: Red Star and Borussia, we’re show respect but no fear.
Fourth in their league behind the traditional Sporting, Benfica and Porto combo which has more or less monopolised Portuguese football from the beginning, Braga are a solid team and the best of the rest. Their star man Ricardo Horta is the one to watch, albeit he’s not quite as prolific in the UEL as he is domestically; but no one has scored more at home than Braga in this tournament with a whopping 12. Rangers are fourth with 9.
They’re probably stronger now than they were in 2020, and a lot of fans are underestimating them as the ‘easiest’ draw, but at this stage, a side has to be pretty good and Braga are decent.
They’re also number one for shots per game, but this comes at a cost and they’re not that interested in defending, with a low level of interceptions and tackles.
It could be a very open match between two fairly evenly balanced sides.
Game on!
The only danger we face now is a fixture pile up similar to 2008. I think though our squad is very much stronger than we had then and, let´s face it, these are the matches you want to be involved in at the business end of the season.
Hopefully we can keep out CB’s fit, thats the key. Because if helander and balogun get injured again we’re down to Goldson and having to move Bassey back across. Then we have no cover at all unless the youth step up.
Helander is a tad immaterial given he’s ineligible for UEL.
It’s a really good draw , we can beat them over 2 legs for sure but we need to approach the game with proper respect and focus. We can’t defend like that again, we also need the whole squad pulling their weight across all fixtures. I hope everyone can remain fit . I am worried our defensive set up will struggle to remain constant and flexible .
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